While the Prodigal is a distance from home, his Father sees and runs to him. I have argued that this is a parable about the reversal of fortunes that will come about with the judgment and restoration of Israel. Could you please help me understand the practical consequences…? His father welcomes him home. Progressive Christianity and the narrative-historical method. He said to his father in reply, “Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends. There’s no point in me repeating them. I certainly don’t see how Jesus could have the Gentiles in view. Rom 9:6-8  But it is not as though the word of God has failed. Let’s not be arrogant and say that unsophistciated 1st century minds would not have worked that way. Grace is most often defined as unmerited or unearned favor. 2:49). How long did Israel stay in Assyria [1 Chr 5:26][2 Kings 17:6]? In spite of the boy’s poor choices, God does not see son number two as an embarrassment. The father in the story shows immense grace to his two sons. He is not moved nor suffers loss. In welcoming his errant son home and restoring his privileges, the father didn’t say, “My son who was bad has become good” but rather “My son … In telling the story, Jesus identifies Himself with God in His loving attitude to … How long did Judah stay in Babylon [2 Kings 20:17]? He had a loving father, a good home, provision, a future, and inheritance, but he traded it all in for temporal pleasures. …the elder brother, who is not a representative of righteous Israel, but rather self-righteous Israel, from whom the kingdom was withheld. He longs to continue showing his love to his son by giving him the gifts of his presence, his time, his affection, and his material benefits, but is frustrated from doing so. The older son, who has always obeyed the father’s orders and served him, sees the father’s acceptance and gifts toward the prodigal son as an act of injustice since the father has not treated him in like manner, with a party. As soon as we receive them, we are ready to preach peace and must not follow the paths of flesh. That’s exactly what it is. I hope that won’t happen to you Andrew, or me, or any of the contributors to this site. We see some echo of the jealousy here of Cain and Abel. Traditionally the parable of The Prodigal Son has been one of the greatest sources of hope for mankind, as Jesus provides us with a metaphor for His Father that stresses His forgiveness and mercy. This story is about a son who lived by these words. 13:16). It was just a few weeks after my own father died. Who is the father in the parable of the prodigal son? For the information of those who find the references here totally baffling, and the even smaller number who may be interested in finding out, the figures in the loghouse post form part of an internal narrative on the website (opensourcehteology.net), and represent contributors to the site at that time. That fits wonderfully. A happy disappointing Christmas to everyone! The son feels it necessary to confess to the father even though the father has not asked him for such an apology. I think it’s a stretch to make the father in the story into an Abraham figure, and of course Abraham is never mentioned. In the parable, the father represents God. The older son represents the second way in which we can misunderstand the gifts we are given by God, that they are earned — “Everything I have is yours,” that is, everything I have is a gift to you. This is not an extrapolation, as we see “gifting” is the first act of the father when the son returns. Then in this triad, the first 2 “lost ones” were sought for. Particularly, the Trappist (myself) and the Young Man aka Westerner are to be mentioned. If the father is Abraham, the son takes his share in his Jewish heritage or in the promises made to the patriarchs and squanders it. Zacchaeus is reckoned as a “son of Abraham” because he gives half of his goods to the poor and offers to recompense those whom he has defrauded (Lk. The bad son enters the father’s feast but the good son will not. father which would have shamed both father and family (because the son is asking not only for the right of possession, but the right of disposal of the property which legally does not occur until the death of the father9). And the father does what he should. He, and his attitude, are as important as the younger brother. Instead of the older son working with and for the father as a gift to him, he interiorly believes he is storing up a debt that the father owes back to him, out of justice. There seems no reason to deny that Jesus meant the lost sheep, coin, and son to stand for people like Zacchaeus and the older son to stand for those members of Israel—principally the scribes and Pharisees—who grumbled about the fact that such a person might repent and be restored. I had a quick look and will try at some point to consider Jordan’s argument—and others like it—in more detail, but for now I’m not persuaded that Jesus intended the parable to be read as a retelling of Israel’s history, whether Isaac and Ishmael or the return from exile. Rom 11:11  So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? He knows he can only heal the relationship, in any real sense, if he returns to a Ironically, the son says “give me the share of your estate that should come to me,” which of course is a command for something owed, not a request for a gift. He does not hide and pout until we have apologized, as we would. Then the celebration began. In the story, the prodigal son takes half of his father's inheritance and spends it all on alcohol, drugs, and prostitutes. I’m quite convinced Deuter 30 lies behind the Lost Son and Psalm 49 is behind the RM & L in ch 16. The motif of God as father has to do with the special status of Jesus and his disciples, especially insofar as they are weak, vulnerable, and exposed to hostility: they are assured that their Father will be with them as they go through suffering for the sake of the coming kingdom and will finally vindicate them. What we see in the story of the Prodigal Son, therefore is a father who reflects both aspects of Divine Mercy: 1) His faithfulness to Himself, to His commitments as a Father to care for his children, and thus his "hesed," and 2) His passionate pity for His lost son's plight; in other words His "rahamim." The Parable of the Prodigal Son also known as the parable of the Two Brothers, Lost Son, Loving Father or Forgiving Father, is one of the parables of Jesus in the … The Prodigal Son “And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. In reply to Notice was Jeremiah says in by Mark. We are hurt by the injustices of others and need an apology, and perhaps more, to return to relationship. The wretched Lazarus is carried by angels to the side of “Father Abraham” after his death; the rich man calls out from Hades, “Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame” (Lk. It is unilateral and no recompense is wished for or even possible, as the father would have passed away before the estate was distributed. The father is consumed not with anger but love toward his son. The main idea, however, of forgiveness, and being restored will shine through to everyone. … We also know that these two sons were at the forefront of Jesus’ mind [Matt 10:6; 15:24]. 2019-09-23T20:44:35-04:00 Tonight is the series premiere of The Prodigal Son … Still further, it is My responses to previous posts on the meaning of  the parable can also be found here and here. He cannot wait any longer but showers him with gifts. What does 'The Prodigal Son' mean? In reply to Sorry Andrew. The words, though, coming from his mind certainly indicate he realizes he has failed in piety — “I have sinned against heaven and against you.”. The father said all things belong to the first child who has always been obedient to him. I believe that both these errors are on the side on one coin. I think it much more likely that Jesus spoke prophetically to Israel with a fairly clear communicative intention in mind. But the father responds, “My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours.” That is to say, he has, in the same way as with the younger son, stored up an inheritance as a gift to him. The traditional interpretation of the parable is unable to explain what the son takes from God when he demands his share of the property. Thank you for the article. Maybe we find ourselves to be none of these characters and wonder why it … He finds himself feeding swine, forbidden to Jews, and longs to eat what he is feeding them. The emphasis is entirely on the fact that the son has been restored to the family. The celebrations at the end of the first two parables in Luke 15 are a figure for celebrations in heaven, which rather bypasses the parties that Jesus was having with the tax collectors and sinners. But I’m not convinced that either text accounts for the specific form or purpose of the parables. They have a way of tripping us up, finding us out, and coming back and biting us. It also highlights Ishmael in a very prominent Jewish manner that is expected to be noticed significantly. But a false identification may also take place. Yesterday I preached a sermon based on the story of the Prodigal Son (which I’ll assume everyone knows but it wouldn’t hurt to go back and read it as a refresher, see Luke 15:11-32 ). But what was Jesus’s intention for the parable? We stray as the prodigal son strays, but the Father welcomes us back no matter what we do. When Jesus gets in trouble with the ruler of a synagogue for healing a woman who had suffered from a “disabling spirit for eighteen years”, he argues, “ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?” (Lk. The older brother seems to have felt unappreciated because the father had never celebrated his faithfulness with even a less expensive animal, yet here he was extravagantly celebrating the return of his lost prodigal son. We also deny our dependence upon those gifts. He catalogs the other son’s sins in an effort to compare himself to his brother. The prodigal son, or lost son, was an abuser of grace. This is certainly one way we can deny the gifts of our Father God, by assuming that we are owed, by our very existence, what He wishes to give us as gifts — our life, the universe, his salvation, and the cornucopia of benefits we receive from him every day. Nor does he send someone to seek the son. Traditionally the parable of The Prodigal Son has been one of the greatest sources of hope for mankind, as Jesus provides us with a metaphor for His Father that stresses His forgiveness and mercy. The connection to Abraham is clear enough — God promised Abraham two things, a nation (Judah) and a company of nations (Joseph or the House of Israel) [Gen 35:11]. All that is important is that his son is restored to him. In fact, it was the fattened calf. …and of course Abraham is never mentioned. We mostly take it for granted, of course, that the father is God and that the central point of the story is that God forgives the repentant sinner. For the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost.’. The son, after squandering the inheritance, finds himself in desperate straits and hires himself out to a local farmer who does not care about him. We don’t need to allegorize the father, but in the story he is head of the family to which the son is restored, and I am inclined to think that that position is better occupied by Abraham than by God. The defeat of Satan has been revealed first to Jesus and then to the disciples by their Father (10:21-22). Similarly, Hosea saw the same two characters (children of a protestitute), and prophecied about them as ‘No Mercy’ in [Hos 1:6] and ‘Not My People’ [Hos 1:9]. If all it was “about” was what it means/meant to belong to the family of Abraham at that time, then your reading has some force. The sandals: the son is not a servant but also the sandals to protect and guide our way back home. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel,   and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.”   This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” [Matt 13:44] this is very reminiscent of the idea of the Prodigal Son, the treasured possession [Deut 14:2; 26:18] that departed for distant lands, not yet returned. A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father, “Father, give me the share of your estate that should come to me.”. He is the good God who is the perfect giver. I would guess that most of the words of Christ could have more than one valid and valuable meaning. These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. The original lie was that he was “owed” his inheritance, an inheritance that he was “free” to squander badly. The prodigal son represents the Gentiles who turned their backs on God early on in order to worship idols. He excludes himself. Why is the Catholic population decreasing in numbers? Too much might be read into this, I guess, but it fits the Abraham identification well. In the same way, Jesus stores up the gifts of grace and salvation individually for each of us upon his sacrificial death. I believe there is more to the story. © Homiletic & Pastoral Review (masthead). The “little flock” of disciples should not be afraid, for “it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (12:32). The motif of the relationship of children to father Abraham in Luke is found in the context of the recurring controversy with the Pharisees and other leaders of the Jews over who will share in the eschatological life of the people of God following judgment—who will sit down at table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the age to come. The question of keeping the commandments does not arise in connection with the younger son. The ring is an emblem of wealth, position, honour; that is one signification of this gift to the penitent. He is “moved” by his constant love for us, toward his sons and daughters to whom he desires to give. By no means! The parable of the prodigal son clearly fits the first category of “father” sayings much better than the second—it is a story not about discipleship but about, Theological terms in narrative-historical perspective, Synopsis of N.T. The latter is a thinly veiled representation of Andrew. But as I pointed out, thematically the story fits with passages that speak of Abraham as father much better than with passages that speak of God as father. In my estimation Andrew is spot on in reading this from the perspective of the intended audience. The younger son in this case demands what is a gift as something owed, as something that belongs to him by right, placing the inheritance in the arena of justice, in effect denying the gratuitous nature of the inheritance and so, in a real sense, denying the love that impels the gift. He made his own bed and now he has to lie in it. Coming to his senses he thought, “How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food to eat, but here am I, dying from hunger. He made his own choice. However, an inheritance is really a gift, from the father to his sons. So, he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his farm to tend the swine. In the same way, we confess our sins not for the benefit of God or to turn away his disgust of us, or to earn his forgiveness. But let us leave that for another discussion. We can avoid thinking that either his love or forgiveness are owed or for sale. Jesus does not simply leave it at that. In this way we the parable elucidates the nature of God the Father. Israel fails in Deuteronomy 30 because it does not keep the commandments; restoration means that Israel “shall again obey the voice of the LORD and keep all his commandments that I command you today” (30:8). All that is required of us is to “wake up” and realize the truth of his mercy and love and to ask forgiveness. There doesn’t need to be a condemnation of the older son, and he is certainly not commended for his hard work. Travis, yes, up to a point: they are part of the general background of ideas. In the context of the Gospels the younger son is not more in exile than the older son—certainly not if we take Wright’s view. Not only that, but we are talking exile, last days, resurrection. Of course, on another level, you could say that the younger is the church. 2. America's foremost pastoral publication. The older son is the Jealous Jew derived from Abraham while the Gentile story is found in Ishmael.Who else goes off and eats with the pigs? This is certainly a metaphor for our Father God. The older brother, like the Pharisees, wanted to earn what he got from his father. To introduce the concept of gift which is so important for our understanding of God and our relationship to him, I wish to offer a somewhat different interpretation of this parable. Why did Jesus instruct his disciples not to preach the kingdom of God to Gentiles and Samaritans? Once he sees what is missing, like the shepherd, and the woman, he seeks to make his family whole. 3:7-9). The purpose of this gift, like all others, is to delight and provide for a loved one. In reply to Travis, yes, up to a point: by Andrew. The fact that he leaves the story with that invitation makes you wonder how many of them responded… although having him arrested and persuading the Romans to execute him certainly makes an interesting alternative ending to the story. I can’t check the details of the argument at the moment, but I will sketch here my reasons for suspecting that the father is not God but Abraham. The son’s demand for what is a gift, forces the gift-act of the father into one of justice: “that should come to me,” that is, “what is owed to me.” Debt can only arise out of justice; gift can only arise from gratuity. But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.”. The son must return to a shared reality that is not based on a lie. Here he had spent his entire inheritance on loose living and tarnished his father’s name. This is due to the fact that he has no relationship with those he works for. The son’s attitude does not change, and neither did the Pharisees’. My intention in analyzing this parable is not to supersede the teaching that the parable points to the mercy of God, but to add to it with a “gift analysis” from the point of view of God as the perfect lover who gives not only gifts, but his very self. It gets even more shocking. In reply to Andrew, are you familiar with by BradK. The fatherhood of God in Luke is essentially a discipleship theme—it defines the relationship of the disciples to God, derived from their relationship to Jesus, as they followed the narrow path of suffering that would lead to life in the age to come. But there is enough there I think. I read The Tale of Two Sons by John MacArthur some time ago, and found his argument that Jesus portrays himself as the father in the story convincing. You are by peter wilkinson. Dear Tom: excellent timing after serving my kids on mother’s day…yes God has given and gives us so many gifts we just need to stand in awe to accept them….thanks flavia. This was so rare the later in the story the older son became jealous and angry that the father had never killed a … The Prodigal Son is one of the most significant passages in the New Testament as a matter of fact. https://heavy.com/entertainment/2019/09/the-prodigal-son-meaning-plot 15:21). I don’t think Kester Brewin’s re-reading is valueless—it’s just not what the historical Jesus intended. Notice the 2 groups are distinct; the House of Judah separate from the House of Israel? That doesn’t mean it’s valueless. I’m sorry I’m not contributing to the promotion of the viewpoint. But later many came back to God through Jesus. 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